This story is ongoing. The story was last updated: May 1, 2020
No matter the situation, First Student teams across North America work together to care for students. We are here and ready to serve.
Though most schools in North America have closed in an effort to flatten the curve and prevent the spread of COVID-19, First Student employees at locations across North America are pitching in wherever they can to help their communities in any way they can.
Students are taking notice of their bus drivers’ efforts. One driver in Indian Prairie, Ill. wrote a note to her bus driver, thanking them for delivering meals to her and her fellow students.
Students aren’t the only ones sending notes. First Student drivers are missing their students during this extended period of social distancing. With schools remaining closed for the rest of the year, some drivers in Penn. were upset they didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to their students before the year ended, so they made a farewell video to wish their students a happy and healthy summer, and to offer words of encouragement during a difficult time.
In Collinsville, Ill., First Student drivers are hard at work delivering meals to students in the Collinsville Unified School District.
In addition to delivering meals, many First Student locations across North America have been hard at work providing services from transportation to those in need, to delivering home learning packets to students in their districts.
More so, all across America, bus drivers have been delivering breakfast and lunches to the students on their route who rely on the meals their schools provide. In Buffalo, N.Y. for example, more than 200 First Student bus drivers delivered almost 7,000 home learning packets to children in their district.
And in Jefferson City, Mo., First Student drivers have partnered with the Jefferson City School District to deliver grab-and-go meals to students. Together, First Student and Jefferson City Schools worked to designate 41 bus stops encompassing as many high-need areas as possible to deliver meals to students Monday-Friday.
In Laconia, N.H., drivers are working hard to deliver hundreds of meals to students. While in Palm Springs, Calif., drivers have delivered over 17,000 meals to students in their district so far, and that number continues to climb.
First Student drivers in Edensburg, Pa. have been working hard to deliver meals and remote learning packets to students in their district as well.
These are just a few of the numerous examples of how First Student employees are leaning in to serve their communities during this time of uncertainty.
Driving a bus is more than a job for most of our employees, and caring for students is more than a tagline. It’s a mission that First Student employees take to heart.